Anyone who has been around the diet block once or twice knows that it can be lonely at the salad bar. It’s easy to feel isolated when you decide to start living your life differently. One of the challenges you might face is that your girlfriends would rather go out for margaritas than to a yoga class, and your kids or spouse won’t even touch a salad. What you might need is a support group.

Weight-loss support groups have been around for decades. Historically, people trying to lose weight have often been made to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about sharing their goals or experiences with others. Being overweight or obese can be socially isolating, making it more difficult to connect, but support groups can turn that problem on its head.

Groups such as Weight Watchers and Take Off Pounds Sensibly embrace dieters and create a supportive forum for them to get educated, be held accountable and, most of all, recognize that there are other people like them with similar concerns. You can share your success and challenges with people who understand and identify with you.

It’s not only empowering, but also very effective. Research shows that having support is key in being successful with a diet. A 2008 study found that dieters attending support group meetings are more successful at losing weight than those who don’t go to meetings – and more frequent attendance is directly correlated with more weight loss.

The right support group will reinforce healthy practices, and self-weighing at meetings helps with accountability and rewards persistence.

If in-person support groups aren’t for you, you can find online support groups. Websites like www.sparkpeople.com are a great place to start. Go out and meet people who, like you, are trying to find their own solutions.